Plastiki sets off on adventure

Hardest part of leaving is leaving behind many who helped build the boat

(CNN) -- The evening before they set off on their voyage across the Pacific on Saturday March 20, skipper Jo Royle and David de Rothschild spoke to CNN about their last minute preparations.

CNN: How are feeling just hours before sailing?

Jo Royle: I'm feeling great. I don't feel nervous at all. I've just left the boat and it's lying a little low in the water as it's loaded up with all the supplies; sustainably-sourced food that we've actually canned ourselves, plus there's loads of camera equipment. All in all, I'm feeling really positive about the voyage and confident in the boat. If anything happens you could not blame the preparation; the energy and passion from everyone has been amazing.

David de Rothschild: I think my feelings are best summed up for me by Mark Twain when he wrote: "Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bow lines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover."

CNN: What's been the hardest part of your last minute preparations?

Jo Royle: One of the hardest parts is leaving a lot of the team behind. We've spent so much time together sometimes spending 24-hour shifts building the boat, so we've become a really tight knit family. It's also sad to leave San Francisco. It's been such an amazing city to be in to build the boat and launch the project -- it's attracted so many intelligent, positive and creative people to our project

CNN: Jo, you're an experience sailor, how does this expedition feel compared to others?

Jo Royle: It does feel a bit different to other journeys in a way. I'm very aware that we have a novice crew, but I'm very positive that everyone has their own role to play. So we'll be off tomorrow morning, slipping our mooring at 9am. The winds will be westerly, which isn't ideal as we really want to be able to sail out under the Golden Gate Bridge.

My mum came to see me off and was looking at what I'd packed and and said it was all thermals and warm clothes. We should make our first port in around 30 days. But she said to me, "What if you end up in San Diego?" Obviously that's not the plan, but if so you could be seeing me in a bikini and longjohns!

Right I'm off to pack up my flat now and see if I can get in one last glass of red wine.